Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder wherein a person continuously pauses in breathing during sleep. This happens because of two things. One, there is something wrong with the respiratory path, like when the throat muscles are overly relaxed during sleep. Two, the brain doesn’t properly send signals to the body parts that control breathing.

Having breathing problems in sleep may make the person wake up from time to time, which means that he or she may experience sleep deprivation and its associated effects, such as anxiety, increased irritability, and poor mental functions. But according to the website of Silent Night Therapy, untreated sleep apnea can also lead to certain medical complications, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular problems.

But how does a person know if he or she has sleep apnea? The follow symptoms may surface:

Abruptly waking up because of shortness of breath

Episodes of breathing hardships during sleep, especially upon the witness of another person

Overly loud snores, especially those that are loud enough to potentially disturb sleep

Sleepiness during daytime, which can be excessive enough to make the person fall asleep anytime anywhere

Waking up with a dry mouth or sore throat

However, take note that some of these symptoms do not necessarily translate into sleep apnea. For example, excessive sleepiness during the day may just mean that the person lacks sleep in the prior night, or that he or she has a different sleeping disorder, such as narcolepsy.

What clearly defines sleep apnea is the breathing problem during sleep, especially if the problem wakes the person up from time to time or disturbs the sleep of another person near the patient that has sleep apnea, like his or her spouse that has been sleeping beside him or her.

Still, the best way to know if a person has sleep apnea is consulting a medical professional. After all, this sleeping disorder is serious enough to warrant a visit to the doctor, because of the possible consequences it has for its sufferers.